Seeking Shadows
"D-Do you think we lost them?"
Sora peeked around the bush they were hiding behind and looked around. He listened for any of the cards' footsteps or shouting. There was nothing, thankfully.
"Yeah, I think we're in the clear." Sora nodded.
"Thank goodness…" Izuku sighed in relief and sank to the ground.
"Midoriya! Are you alright?" Iida kneeled next to him. "Are you feeling well?"
"Oh dear, is he okay?" Alice stepped forward in concern.
"He's fine." Donald nodded. "Using so much magic at once can be tiring. Now that we're out of the fight, it looks like he's feeling the effects of Magic Exhaustion."
"He'll be okay." Goofy nodded. "It's happened a bunch of times with Donald. But Izuku looks like he's got a minor case. Just let him sit for a little while."
"Magic exhaustion's a thing?" Sora asked. "That's a thing?"
"Yeah, so think about that the next time you decide to go flinging around spells left and right." Donald huffed.
"Hey, I landed most of those."
"Most?"
"Yeah!"
"Most is being generous." Donald shook his head and rubbed his temples. Getting a noise of objection from Sora.
"Magic exhaustion?" Iida raised an eyebrow. "I believe you mean Quirk exhaustion. Magic isn't real."
"Uh...no. Magic exhaustion." Donald shook his head. "And magic is real. You saw it. You saw Izuku and Sora use it. Even me!"
"I believe I saw you use-"
"Oh yeah, you don't have magic where you're from. You have Qui-"
Goofy covered Sora's mouth and shook his head. "World Order remember?"
"But Iida knows about Quirks and stuff."
"Alice doesn't."
"Oh. Right."
Izuku groaned as he dragged himself to his feet. "This is a conversation we should probably have later."
"Midoriya, I simply must insist that-"
"Iida, please." Izuku looked up at him. "I promise I'll explain everything later, but for now, let's drop it."
Iida stared at him before sighing. "Alright, later then."
He took a moment to compose himself before looking at the others and putting out a hand. "Perhaps we should introduce ourselves; my name is Tenya Iida of Class 1-A. And you are?"
"The name's-"
"I'm Sora!" Sora jumped in front of Donald and took Iida's hand. "That's Donald, and that's Goofy. You already know Izuku, right?"
Iida shook his hand in a firm grip. "Yes, of course. Midoriya is my classmate. It's nice to meet you all."
Alice approached the rest of them with a smile. "And my name is Alice. It's a pleasure to meet you. It's nice to see some friendly faces here, considering all that's happened."
"Nice to meet ya!" Goofy waved.
Iida let go of Sora's hand and looked between all the group members before looking down to the only familiar face there. "So, now that we're free from the Queen and her mad court, what should we do now?"
"For now, we should probably focus on getting out of the Queen's territory. We need to find someplace where she has no real say, where she's powerless. That way, Alice can be safe."
"That's a good plan." Iida nodded. "But the issue is we have no real way of knowing how far her rule extends. We could be at this for days before we find a place like that."
"Yeah, that's true. And we're a little short on time." Izuku scratched at his face.
"Perhaps we don't need to go further into this place and look for somewhere she doesn't rule," Alice spoke up. "I just need to get home. Unfortunately, I have no earthly idea how to get back."
"Well, maybe we can retrace yer steps." Goofy offered. "Try to think back on where ya been and how ya got here. Then we can figure out how to get ya home!"
"Well, alright. Forgive me if it sounds like nonsense."
"Considering everything we've seen here, I think nonsense is par for the course." Sora smiled. He looked down to see his empty hand was still shaking up and down from the handshake. He grinned sheepishly as he finally got his hand to stop.
They all listened as Alice recounted how she followed the White Rabbit down the rabbit hole and ended up in the Pink Room, then how she cried so much and flooded the room with her tears and drank the shrinking potion and ended up in an ocean. From there, she followed the white rabbit into the forest and met a set of twins. They told her a story about a Walrus and a Carpenter. Then ran off to follow the White Rabbit again and how she spooked the poor thing after becoming large in his house, he thought she was a monster!
Then she ended up growing even smaller and running out to once again follow the Rabbit. That was when she had met the Flowers, and after being chased off, she met a smoking caterpillar. Shortly after that, she had run into Iida, but two didn't get too far before being arrested by the card soldiers.
"I had come from deeper in the forest after having to deal with some kind of tea party insanity." Iida rubbed his eyes.
"Tea party insanity?" Sora asked.
"Better not to ask. I have no idea how to explain it." Iida shook his head.
"Well, either way, I think I know where we need to go to get Alice home," Donald spoke up.
"Oh, do you?" Alice smiled.
"It looks like we need to get back to the Pink Room, then we can take the door we used to get there in the first place." Goofy nodded.
"But to get to the Pink Room, we need to go through the Queen's Maze. And there are probably card soldiers patrolling the area." Izuku looked down. "We can probably try to force our way through, but that might do more harm than good."
"So we need to find another way around." Sora tapped his chin. "Oh! Wait, the Cheshire Cat, remember when we fell through that door? He said it was one of his shortcuts, which means there have to be others. And maybe some more of them lead to the Pink Room, and we can avoid the Queen's castle altogether!"
"You've met the Cheshire Cat?" Alice asked.
"Oh, you know him?"
Iida nodded. "If you mean the cat that appears and disappears as he pleases, then yes, I've met him. He gave me what I think was supposed to be advice."
"Yeah, he tends to do that. But funny enough, he usually points you in the right direction...usually." Sora looked away.
"In a roundabout way." Izuku shrugs.
"Anyway, we should probably get going." Donald grabbed their attention again. "Besides, we need to keep moving before the card soldiers find us. The sooner we get going, the sooner we can get you all home."
"Good thinking, we don't know how far they'll actually look. We don't want to be caught unawares." Iida nodded.
Goofy and Donald made noises of agreement and took the lead, leading the four behind them.
The group made their way through the forest, carefully moving through the grass and keeping an ear out for any soldiers.
The further they went, the darker the forest became. As if the shadows had swallowed all of the light. It was hard to tell what was in front of them. The only way they were able to stay together was by staying close to each other.
"Do we even know where we're going?" Iida whispered after a while
"We're staying hidden, and we're looking for some kind of path or a shortcut," Donald said. "There's no path we can see because some kind of dog with a broom for a head brushed it away!"
"A dog...with a broom for a head?"
"It's probably normal here." Sora shrugged.
"Looking for a shortcut now, are we?"
They all jumped at the sound of the all too familiar voice of the Cheshire Cat. They looked around for any sign of the floating tell-tale eyes and mouth. Instead of seeing any sign of him, they only heard a loud rumbling throughout the forest. The ground began shaking, making them all stumble and cling onto the nearest thing they could.
A moment later, a large boulder came flying from some random direction, soaring over their heads and crashing into a tree, nearly splitting it in half.
"What in the world was that?" Alice spun around to look at the boulder.
"I'm guessing rocks fly now?" Sora asked.
"Don't tempt fate," Izuku warned.
"Wait a sec, that looks like the boulder we saw earlier."
"Yeah, it does!" Donald nodded.
Before they could discuss it further, the familiar eyes appeared on top of the boulder. Then the mouth slowly came after, humming a nonsensical tune.
"Of course it's you." Iida sighed
"Why, yes. Who else would it be?" The Cat grinned. "How are you enjoying your tour of Wonderland, dear friend?"
"Quite frankly, I wish you would have warned me about the mad Queen." Iida crossed his arms.
"Oh, but then where's the fun in that? It doesn't hurt to experience some of the madness here, does it?"
"That madness almost got them killed." Donald frowned.
The Cat waved one of his paws and shrugged. That was when Sora stepped up.
"Hey, while you're here, we have to ask you something. Do you have any more shortcuts that go to the Pink Room? If so, where are they? We really need to get Alice home."
"I haven't seen any shortcuts, too many shadows." The Cat replied nonchalantly. "Makes it rather difficult to find anything now, doesn't it?"
"Shadows? Did they take away your shortcuts?" Goofy asked.
"Perhaps." The Cat shrugged.
"So they did," Donald said.
"Perhaps."
"So they didn't?"
"Perhaps!"
"Answer the question!"
The cat laughed before he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of pink and purple sparkles.
"No, wait, please don't leave!" Alice looked around. "We still need your help."
"Who said I was leaving?" The cat spoke up again, making them all look around. It was hard to figure out where his voice was coming from. They could only figure it out when a pink and purple tail appeared on Iida's shoulder.
"Listen, if the shadows took away your shortcuts, we could get them back for you." Izuku looked at the Cheshire Cat as he appeared again, sitting on Iida's shoulder and leaning on his head. "Just tell us where they went."
"Would you please get off me?"
"Where they went?" The Cat chuckled before shaking his head. "This way? That way? Are they left, right, up, down? Does it matter? Everything's been mixed up thanks to the shadows!"
"So you have no idea…." Izuku looked down.
"Oh, now I wouldn't say that." He hummed. "Try to seek out the upside-down room. Perhaps you'll find the shadows there."
"The upside-down room?" Alice asked.
"But first, perhaps you should visit the tea party. You've been invited after all!"
"Tea party?" Sora raised an eyebrow.
"That place again?" Iida looked up.
The Cheshire Cat laughed before clapping his paws together and disappearing, leaving only pink and purple sparkles behind.
"Be wary of the shadows, friends; they could be lurking anywhere!"
They all sighed as the Cat left them, leaving them with what seemed like even more nonsense.
"Visit a tea party?" Alice asked. "I highly doubt it's tea time. Even if it was, there's no way we'd make it on time."
"With those three, every time is tea time." Iida straightened out his glasses.
"Do ya know where the party is?" Goofy asked.
"More or less, I think I may know the way from here. But without a path, it'll be a little harder to find."
"What was that noise?"
They all jumped at the new voice and the sound of footsteps following after it. A few of them peered around the bush and saw some of the cards in the forest, poking through the grass with their weapons.
"They already caught up to us," Alice whispered.
"Then it's time to go. Iida, think you can lead the way?" Izuku looked up at him as he nodded.
"Of course, I believe I had been going in this general direction before-"
"Halt, who goes there? On behalf of the Queen of Hearts, I order you to cease your...I said stop!" There was a loud shout and a clatter before more of the card soldiers began to yell.
They didn't have to guess what was attacking the fleeing card soldiers before seeing small shadows rising from the ground at their feet.
"The Heartless are here!" Sora smacked a shadow away from them.
"Were they hidin' the whole time?" Goofy jumped in front of Alice and blocked a kick aimed at her.
Sora watched as more of them began to crawl out of the grass and rise of the shade. There was a horde of them; all the creatures stared at them with shiny yellow eyes. They all started to move closer to the group, scratching at the ground and hissing at them.
They all stared back at the Heartless until all the shadows jumped towards them.
"Duck!" Donald shouted. "Thunder!"
Multiple bolts of lightning came down and crashed into the shadows, making them dissolve into dark mist as they hissed and screeched in pain. The rest of the Heartless didn't waste time and charged towards them.
"Iida, keep Alice safe!" Izuku raced towards the Heartless.
"What, but Midoriya!" He tried to follow Izuku and walked into a shimmering barrier. He tried to shout for Izuku but backed away as a Soldier Heartless attempted to kick the barrier and bounced off of it.
He spotted Sora running towards them and finishing the Heartless before running off again to fight more of the shadows. Donald and Goofy supported Izuku and Sora, covering for them and watching their backs as they cut through the creatures.
Iida couldn't help but hit the barrier in frustration. He couldn't support them. He couldn't do anything to help his friend. He could only sit back and watch as the endless horde came from the grass and the shadows it cast.
"They're barely doing anything." Iida frowned.
"Do you think they'll be alright?" Alice asked.
"I hope so, they seem capable, and they've been able to beat back the Queen's soldiers. I believe they can handle this." He grits his teeth.
A shiver ran up Iida's spine as he thought about it. It almost felt like he was reliving that night again, stuck behind a barrier and only hoping that it would be enough to keep the monsters away. How they were only able to rely on one friend to get rid of the monsters in front of them.
It wouldn't be a complete loop, would it? Would those shadows combine into towers of monsters that flew around and destroyed everything in their path? Would they be dragged back down again into a place unknown? Just as he was able to find at least one of his friends again?
Iida was snapped out of his thoughts as something slammed into the barrier, making it shimmer from the impact. The pair looked down to see Goofy getting up from the ground and shaking it off. Just as he was about to run off to help with the creatures, a large one appeared from the grass and barreled towards them.
Goofy gasped and held up his shield. Iida was impressed that he was able to stay on his feet despite the monster's sheer force.
"Don't worry, we ain't gonna let anythin' happen to ya," Goofy assured him and managed to push the Large Body back. Sora came up from behind and hit it as hard as he could. It stumbled forward, and then again as Sora managed to land another hit.
Sora quickly jumped out of the way to avoid a smack to the face.
"Ha! Not this time!" Sora grinned.
"Don't get cocky." Donald smacked away a shadow. "That's how you make more mistakes."
While the Large Body began to chase after Sora again, Izuku took the opportunity to come up behind it and slam his weapon into its back. The Heartless was about to turn around until Sora launched a fireball at it. It groaned in pain as the flames ate through the shadows, and it slowly dissolved.
"Midoriya, take down the barrier," Iida said as Izuku honed in on another Heartless that got too close. "There are too many, and from the looks of it, they're endless."
"If I drop the barrier, there's a higher chance of you two getting hurt." Izuku blocked a swipe and kicked the Shadow Heartless away.
"You're unnecessarily wasting energy by keeping it up, and you four are getting nowhere with all these monsters. Our best bet is to run until we either lose them or we find a more defendable position, like what we had to do last time."
Izuku faltered in his attack for a moment and received a kick to the face. Before he could recover, the Soldier Heartless took the chance to leap onto him and claw at him.
"Agh, get off me!" Izuku struggled with the Soldier and tried to pull it off him, only for the Heartless to get more violent.
Before any of the others could help him, Iida ran over and tore the Heartless off before throwing it back into the grass. There was a clatter from where he threw it, but they ignored that.
Upon seeing Iida and Alice free from the barrier, Donald squawked in surprise.
"What are you two doing?" He asked.
"We need to run. There are too many here." Iida ran back over to Alice. "I think I know where to go from here, but at this point, leaving is better than staying!"
Goofy bashed another Heartless and backed away as another large one emerged from the grass. "There's nothin' wrong with runnin' away."
"But there can't be that many left can there?" Sora asked before cutting through another Heartless.
"Iida's right." Izuku agreed. "I don't think these things are going to stop coming."
Sora looked around before huffing. "Alright then, let's go!"
"This way!" Iida started running with Alice in tow, but in the direction he was running, there was a large group of Soldier and Shadow Heartless with a few flying Heartless zooming around.
"Keep running!" Donald raised his staff. "Thunder!"
Once again, bolts of lightning came crashing down on the Heartless, getting rid of most of them. The rest that remained Iida and Alice ran past, leaving the others to quickly finish off the remaining few.
The Heartless followed them through the forest, desperately clamoring over one another to get to the group. They weaved through the trees and around bushes in an attempt to lose them.
After what felt like forever, the darkness of the forest seemed to fade, giving way to soft sunlight that shone through the trees. It made it easier to see and made the Heartless slow down; they were becoming reluctant to follow them any further if it meant stepping into the light of day.
After some time, they realized the Heartless had stopped following them, keeping to the shadows of the forest and hissing at them from afar. A wall of beady yellow eyes tracked their every move as if daring them to come into the woods again.
"They stopped." Sora panted.
"Yeah, they did." Goofy nodded.
"Let's not push our luck; they might get brave and start to chase us again." Izuku shook his head.
"You're still leading the way. Do you know where we are?" Donald asked.
Iida looked around and walked around the area. Noting the mushrooms and the lilypads far above them.
"I think I know where we are; we just need to go a little further. We shouldn't be too far."
"Are you sure?"
Iida nodded. "Yes, I'm starting to recognize this area. It shouldn't be that much further."
-.-
"Is it just me, or does this place seem familiar? Did we come this way before?" Sora looked above at the trees of leaves and lilypads.
"Uh…" Izuku scanned the area and took note of some of the plants he had seen before. "Maybe? I don't know."
Iida continued to lead them through the forest, the area growing more familiar as they went. Sora nearly jumped when he thought he caught sight of the broom dog again. If it was nearby, then they had to be close.
Soon enough, they all began to hear music or something close to music. Like tea kettles mimicking shrill woodwinds with no actual melody. Then there was what they thought was steam or smoke filling the air.
"What in the world…."
"The Tea Party Garden should be just ahead." Iida pointed. "One word of advice before we get there. Whatever you do, don't mention the Cheshire Cat, or any cat for that matter."
"Why's that?" Goofy asked.
"Because it'll upset the mouse living in one of the teapots."
"A mouse living in a...wait what?" Sora jogged up to him to walk in time with him. "There's a mouse living in a teapot?"
"Mmhm."
"That's so…."
"Strange?" Alice offered.
"Yeah!"
"And they drink out of those teapots?" Donald asked.
"Yes, well, in their defense, the mouse just stays in one of them. It doesn't move from that one at all. I think he sleeps most of the time. Which is preferred, he only wakes up to either spout some nonsense or panic when a cat is mentioned."
"Noted."
"Hey, is that it up there?" Izuku pointed forward to the start of a path that led to a wall of greenery. In the middle was a clear path to get through, only blocked by a small gate that was halfway open.
"Yes, that's the place."
Iida took a deep breath and made his way forward, pushing open the gate and stepping inside the garden. Hedges were surrounding the area with flowers of different colors blooming from them. There was a short path that led past the table and uphill to what looked like a house.
Much to his surprise, instead of hearing the singing he had been expecting, there was only the shrill whistling of the kettles. It no longer sounded like music, only a long monotonous note that began to fade as they approached the table.
They stood quietly as the noise began to die down, leaving them in silence and giving them time to take in the scene.
There were teapots and cups scattered around the garden, some of them broken while others remained intact. The chairs around the table were knocked over and misplaced. It was as if a tornado wreaked havoc through the place.
"Didn't you say there were people here?" Sora asked.
"Yes, there were. Or at least there should be." Iida walked around, looking for any sign of the residents. "The Mad Hatter and the March Hare, they should be here."
"Where do you think they could have gone?" Alice walked over to help with the search. She looked under the table to only find more teapots and teacups.
"I'm not sure; they never seemed to leave the table."
"Do ya think they went into that house?" Goofy asked and pointed up the hill.
Iida shook his head. "Last time I was here, I asked if that's where they lived. Apparently, that house has always been there, but it's not theirs. They don't know who lives there."
"Iida…" Izuku walked up to him. The worst-case scenario was already going through their minds.
What if they were too late?
What if in the time he was gone, the monsters had come to drag them away?
"I couldn't have been gone for more than a few hours, and those monsters never showed any signs of appearing here," Iida muttered, staring at a broken teapot. "The tea is still warm, this couldn't have happened too long ago."
He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. He had to stay calm, there was no use in getting upset. He just had to think, had to figure something out. What would his brother do in this situation?
What would Tensei do?
His mind screeched to a halt as he tried to figure something out. Anything would be better than nothing, his brother wouldn't be standing around like this. He'd probably already know what to do!
"Oh how curious." Alice's voice cut through his thoughts and he looked over to see her picking up a shaking teapot. Iida's eyes widened at the sight and he hurried over, he recognized that pot.
Sora looked over her shoulder as she looked over the bright teapot and its design. With painted leaves and flowers on it.
"What's with the teapot?" Donald asked.
"I saw it shaking on the table." She answered.
"So there's still someone here?"
"Yes, that's the teapot the Dormouse stays in." Iida made his way over and leaned towards it. "Surely if he's here the others must be as well."
Goofy and Donald shared a look before Iida tapped on the teapot.
"Dormouse, it's me. I'm sure you remember me from earlier, where did your friends go?"
The teapot shook for a bit with some rustling coming from inside. After a moment the lid rose as a small, shivering mouse peeked out.
"Gone, gone, gone the Hare and Hatter." It murmured. "What you'll do it will not matter."
"Where did they go?" Sora asked.
"The shadows came in through the night, and caused us all a terrible fright." It sank down into the teapot again. "Our friends are gone, it's been too long." The Dormouse sniffled.
"We're too late?" Izuku asked.
The mouse didn't answer and stayed within its teapot.
Iida stared blankly at the teapot as Alice looked away sadly.
"It couldn't have been more than a few hours," Iida repeated. "How in the world did...but they never showed any signs of showing up here."
"The Heartless show up wherever they want to." Donald walked over and patted his arm. "Even if you were here, you probably wouldn't have been able to fight them off."
Iida shook his head, he knew that. But even so, maybe he would have been able to get them to safety, at most he could have outrun the monsters.
"Are you okay Iida?" Izuku asked.
Iida nodded. "I'll be fine. It's just, they were the first people I came upon when I woke up in this place. Even though we didn't quite see eye to eye and I found their methods of celebrating unorthodox and strange, they still showed me kindness and hospitality. Even when they didn't have to. They allowed me to get back on my feet and recover from what happened before."
"They were your friends, it's okay to be upset." Goofy frowned.
"I'm aware, but still...how different would things have turned out if I hadn't left?"
Sora frowned and looked down at the mess around them. From the looks of it at least they hadn't gone down without a fight, but he could only imagine how scared they must have been.
"Even so, you might not have been able to get away with them." Izuku looked towards the path. "There was a boulder in the way the last time we came in this direction, it must have appeared after you were arrested. There's no way you could have gotten around it."
Iida sighed and shook his head. There was nothing he could do about it now, as frustrating as that may be. He had no other choice but to move on and hope this didn't happen to anybody else.
"I suppose we should be going now, we can't find the upside-down room if we linger in this place." Iida looked at them before looking at the teapot.
"We're going to be going now." Alice gently tapped the teapot. "Will you be alright on your own Mr. Dormouse?"
He made a small noise and made the teapot rattle before quieting down.
"Can't we take him with us?" Sora asked. "It'd be kinda mean to just leave him on his own."
Donald shook his head. "No, it'd be dangerous. Plus, we shouldn't drag people around if they don't want to be. Maybe it'd be best if we leave him be."
"But still…" Sora frowned but stopped himself at the look Donald gave him.
"Fine." He sighed and tapped the teapot. "Hey uh...Mr. Dormouse?" Sora asked. "We're gonna do our best and try to find your friends. Maybe they'll come back soon! You just gotta hold out for a little bit okay?"
They heard the Dormouse sigh before going quiet again. Alice gently placed the teapot down and looked at the others.
"Let's get going then," Izuku mumbled. "The sooner we find the Heartless in the upside-down room the sooner we can get rid of them, and the more we get rid of the less there will be to hurt anybody else. It's our job to keep this stuff from happening isn't it?"
"Yeah but…" Goofy looked around. "Where are we supposed to go from here?"
Izuku looked up at the house on top of the hill and pointed at it. "Let's try there. It's a start, but something is better than nothing.
Izuku looked to the side to see Iida looking straight ahead at the house. It killed him to see Iida like this, so sad, to see that he's lost someone else. Is this what the Cheshire Cat meant when he said they weren't innocent? While they were trying to save Alice and Iida, someone else was being hurt by the Heartless. They were so focused on one thing they didn't think about any other possibilities. But then they couldn't have known could they?
Was there any way this could have gone differently?
"Alrighty then, Donald and I will take the lead." Goofy patted Iida's shoulder. "Ya stay close okay?"
"Right." They all nodded and followed the Royal Knight and Magician up the hill and to the house. In all honesty, there was nothing special about the house, it looked normal. Built with wood and bricks and painted a soft pink color with hay for a roof.
Donald and Goofy stood in front of the door and paused before knocking. It sounded hollow and empty inside, they could hear the sound echoing within the house.
"Hello? Anybody in there?" Donald raised his voice.
"Sorry to bother ya!" Goofy apologized after.
They only met with an eerie silence.
"Is anybody in there?" Donald knocked again, only for the door to open afterward. It hadn't been properly closed in the first place.
They all shared a glance as Goofy pushed open the door, revealing a completely different room on the other side. It didn't look like the inside of a house, instead, they were met with a wall in front of them and what looked like an open space to the left.
Izuku peeked out into the room and back to the garden. It was a sudden change, abrupt and jarring.
"How the…"
"Is this one of the shortcuts the Cheshire Cat was talking about?" Sora asked. "You think this is one of the ones that he normally has? Or one he lost?"
"Does it really matter at this point?" Donald asked.
"Well, I mean it does. Because what even is this place? Is this the upside-down room he was talking about? Or a random shortcut that leads to somewhere else?" Izuku kept peeking into the room and moving back out.
"How curious." Alice looked in and back towards the garden. "Though I guess there's only one way to find out."
As they made their way into the room the door closed behind them. They didn't get the chance to be concerned about it as they heard a familiar voice clearing his throat.
"You finally found it." The Cheshire Cat's voice surrounded them until he appeared, sitting on top of Izuku's hat. "I thought you'd get here sooner."
"So you knew where this shortcut was?" Sora looked up at him. "Does that mean you know other ones that aren't messed up? Ones the Heartless didn't take?"
"Mmm, not all of them. Then again why should you be so concerned with those when you found the one you needed?" He grinned and stepped off Izuku's hat, only to appear beside Alice. "You should take care since they are hiding here. If you really want to find those pesky shadows, I'd recommend turning a light on."
"Turning a light on?" Iida asked.
"Well, it does look a little dim here." Alice looked around, scanning the room and letting out a gasp as she saw what was above her. "Oh my!"
"What is it?" Sora asked, looking up as Alice pointed to the ceiling.
They all looked towards the ceiling and instead saw a bird's eye view of the Pink Room. It looked dimly lit from afar, the table, the snoring doorknob, even the large pink door on the other side of the room.
"Oh, that's…" Izuku looked up, then down, then up again. "Kinda jarring."
"But you have to admit it's pretty cool." Sora chimed in. "Unless we fall, that won't be fun."
"It's like the maze all over again." Donald rubbed his temples.
"This place is...hold on, what are those?" Iida stepped away from the group and pointed out two lamps in the middle of the room.
They all looked to where he was pointing and began to make their way towards the lamps that stood above them on tables.
"Turning on a light…" Izuku muttered and walked forward. "The Cat wanted us to turn on a light, but the shadows are hiding in here, he said. So does that mean lighting up the place will get rid of them and set everything right?"
"Only one way to find out." Sora started making his way towards one of the lamps. He grunted as he slowly climbed up the table that held one of the lamps. Once he was up there he approached the glass lamp and walked around it.
"So should I use my fire magic?" Sora asked.
"Yes!"
Sora sighed and looked at his Keyblade, trying to concentrate on making a flame. As he was aiming towards the lamp, Izuku took the liberty to climb up the other table and approach the lamp.
Izuku formed a flame in his hand and gently tossed the fireball into the lamp. His lit instantly, brightening up the room quite a bit. But now that it was brighter, it was much easier to see their surroundings. Izuku looked towards the walls that cast shadows on different parts of the room.
The more he stared at the shadows the more he saw them move. Quietly writhing and churning all around them. There was something in the shadows, and the light was waking it up.
"Hey, guys?" Izuku spoke up, but before he could say anything else Sora lit the lamp and brought even more light to the room. Izuku never got the chance to voice his concerns as a loud groan echoed around them. The shadows began to seep out of their hiding spots and creep across the walls.
As the shadows stretched high above them the Cheshire Cat appeared on a ledge with a big grin on his face.
"Now that all the lights are on I'm sure you can see the shadows now." He disappeared as a dark tendril began to unfold from the walls, like a folded piece of paper. He didn't reappear as he spoke again. "They're all showing up now, they're none too happy with you. Especially since you've disturbed their nap. I wonder, are you prepared for the worst? If not, then that's too bad!"
He laughed as the shadows began to close in on them again, forcing everyone to regroup. They were caught off guard by the shadows that darted out from above and grabbed them, none of them got the chance to react as they were pulled down from the ceiling and slammed onto the floor of the Pink Room.
They all groaned in pain before getting back to their feet, looking up at the giant Heartless that was forming before them.
"Iida, Alice are ya okay?" Goofy asked.
Iida coughed and got to his feet with Alice. He had shielded her from the harsh landing. "We're fine. But what is that?"
"I think that's the thing that's been telling the Heartless what to do, like that other one we dealt with," Sora answered.
"Iida, you and Alice need to find somewhere safe, okay?" Izuku summoned his Keyblade and stepped forward.
Iida was about to object as he saw the Heartless rise to its full height, sporting a pink, purple, and green color scheme. Its head looked like a tower, each section of it had a wry smile and yellow eyes. In each hand was a juggling club. It reminded him of a demented jester.
"Please be careful," Alice asked.
"They will, we just have to trust them. Let's go!"
While Iida took Alice and ran off, the Trick Master looked towards them and raised one of its clubs.
"Oh no, you don't!" Sora shouted and ran forward, brandishing his Keyblade. Once he was within striking distance he brought his weapon down as hard as he could on one of the legs. Only to realize that the leg wasn't affected at all. It was almost like it was made of hard rubber, the shape slightly contorted around the Keyblade.
"What the…"
"Sora, get out of there!" Izuku yelled as a club smacked Sora away and sent him crashing towards the fireplace.
"Sora!" They all shouted in concern but soon had to scatter themselves as the monster began stomping around and taking swings at them.
Sora got to his feet again and rubbed his head. That really hurt. But soon enough he shook himself out of it and started paying attention again. Everyone was trying to dodge the clubs and keep from getting stepped on. At the moment the Heartless seemed focused on Goofy, much to the knight's dismay.
He did a quick scan to see where Iida and Alice were, relieved when he saw them on the other side of the room. They were keeping their distance and moving as the Heartless did. He thought back to the Heartless again, they couldn't hit its legs since they would just bend around whatever was hitting them.
Sora wracked his brain for a solution, to think of a plan. He looked between his friends and the Heartless for a moment before spotting the table and the chair. He grinned as he raced towards the. There was no way the Heartless could be completely invincible, they just had to be a little creative.
"Look out!" Goofy blocked a club from smacking Donald across the room. Just a little ways away he saw Izuku aiming an ice spell at the Heartless.
"Izuku, get the Heartless over by the table!" Sora pointed to his goal. Izuku nodded and fired off the spell, sending a large chunk of ice racing towards the Trick Master. The spell slammed into it and made it stumble before righting itself and glaring at the one who assaulted it.
"Y-Yeah! That was me, come get me!" Izuku ran away as he taunted it, leading it towards the table where he could see Sora climbing up.
I really hope you've got a plan Sora!
Izuku reached the table and whirled around to face the Heartless. He could see it raising its clubs, about to strike him down. Izuku took the chance to hurl another Blizzara spell at it. Watching as the ice magic struck it and made it falter. He felt a cold power hum under his skin as frost spread across the Heartless's face.
That was when he saw Sora jump off the table and towards the Heartless, shouting and bringing down his Keyblade as hard as he could. There was a loud crack as the first hit connected, then another as Sora managed to land another hit. He rolled once he hit the ground and got back on his feet again.
"Yes! You can hit the top half!" He shouted.
"So that means we're going to have to keep using the table and chair then." Izuku eyed the monster and started sprinting away as it went to strike him again.
"We just need to keep it around here." Sora started running towards the table again.
"I can do that." Izuku nodded and summoned a bolt of Thunder to strike the Heartless. Quickly getting its attention.
As it began to stomp towards a fleeing Izuku, Donald cast a spell of his own, and sent more bolts of lightning to rain down on the Heartless.
Izuku whirled around to watch the Heartless, it had lost focus on Izuku and instead turned its anger on Donald and Goofy again.
"You just go after whatever hurt you most recently, at least if you can see it," Izuku muttered. He shuddered as he prepared another spell, feeling his body temperature plummet even further.
Be careful, don't use too much magic.
Izuku took a deep breath despite the cool air that wrapped around his lungs, feeling it constrict and tighten his chest.
No, this was different. He knew he had plenty of magic, and he wasn't feeling any exhaustion. So what was it?
"Midoriya, pay attention!" Iida shouted.
Izuku forced himself to focus and looked up to see Donald and Goofy being chased into the corner by the Trick Master. Iida and Alice were across from him, watching him with worry.
Don't get lost in your head!
"Donald, Goofy, over here!" Izuku called out and began running towards them, towards the fireplace.
Izuku flung an ice spell towards the Heartless, watching it turn towards him again. He just had to lure it back to the table.
He didn't waste any time running as soon as it faced him. That thing was able to cover more ground in less time than he could hope to.
"Sora, it's all yours!" Izuku yelled as he turned to fling another spell at it. He had to keep its attention on him. Then he had to keep it away from Sora so he could climb up the table again. They just had to whittle it down, little by little until they could either knock it down or finish it off. Whichever would come first.
"Alright!" Sora stepped back, watching the Heartless, before taking off at a sprint and jumping at the Heartless while it was distracted. He grit his teeth as he reached for the power he felt earlier. The power that saved them at the last second, the electricity that ran through his blade and exploded from the impact.
He tightened his hold on his weapon as he got closer to the Heartless, ignoring the fear that gripped his heart. He brought down the Keyblade as hard as he could, and felt an explosion of energy crackle along his skin and slam into the enemy.
The explosion of power sent Sora flying back and crashing to the ground while the Heartless shuddered violently and collapsed to its knees.
"It's down!" Iida yelled.
"On it!" Izuku raced forward towards the stunned Heartless. He took a deep breath and coated his weapon with magic, letting ice flow out. He felt a pressure growing in his chest, becoming more and more intense. He couldn't afford to think about it, he had to stay focused.
I don't know how long this thing will stay down, so I have to hit this thing as hard as I can. At least try to weaken before it gets up again.
He could see Donald and Goofy make their way over as well, charging forward to help. Donald was already getting ready to cast a spell and Goofy was charging ahead to bash his shield into the monster.
He was using a lot of magic at once, but it would be fine. If he could make the hit count it'd be worth it. He could let at least some of his magic regenerate while he ran around to distract it. He wasn't sure how many Ethers he had left.
Izuku shouted as he slammed Indomitable Spirit into the Heartless, watching an explosion of cool air and small ice shards force it to jerk away from him.
"Alright, I think that did some da-!" Izuku shuddered and gasped as the pressure in his chest suddenly exploded. Ice ran through his veins, starting from his chestand slowly spreading to his fingers. He could even feel it flowing into his Keyblade.
"Izuku move!" Donald shouted and threw a volley of lightning at the Heartless. Before the sparks dispersed Goofy slammed his shield into its head as hard as he could.
Sora huffed as he got to his feet, he hadn't been expecting that much output. It had brought down the Heartless, but it also surprised him. But he couldn't help the rush it gave him, it still amazed him he was able to do that in the first place! He felt the hair on the back of his neck standing on end.
He raced towards the Heartless and was about to hit it again until it shook itself out of its stupor and stood up, showing off two large cracks on its faces. The Trick Master didn't give any of them the chance to run and gain ground before spinning around in the circle, wildly flailing its clubs about.
Izuku snapped out of his momentary daze and tried to cast a barrier around them before the hit could connect, instead, the half-formed barrier shattered and sent them all flying back in different directions. Izuku gasped for air as he slammed into the wall and fell to the ground.
He was faintly aware of someone shouting his name but instead, all he could focus on was the intense cold that settled inside of him. The initial shock was gone now, and he recognized the magic humming under his skin.
This seems familiar...
"Midoriya!" Iida shouted and ran over to his friend with Alice in tow. The closer he got the colder the air was, as if he was walking into a freezer. He looked over Izuku as he got to his feet, a little unsteady. Iida looked over him, seeing a few scrapes but no other injuries. What had really caught his eye though was the faint blue glow that surrounded Izuku, if he had to guess that was the source of the cool air around them.
"Are you alright?" Alice asked.
"Y-Yeah." Izuku looked up. "I think I'm okay…"
"What's happening?" Iida asked. "Or, what happened?"
"I don't know," he admitted, "but I think I've got an idea."
She told me about this I think...
An alarmed squawk made them all look up. They could see Donald ducking and dodging around the Trick Master. There were a few sparks lingering around it, evidence of the Magician's last attack. The Heartless seemed to be in a frenzy this time though, as if it was enraged by what they managed to do to it.
The Heartless was chasing Donald into a corner, not giving him any room to run somewhere else.
"Donald!" Izuku stood up, but Iida had beaten him to the punch. He took off, leaving dust where he had been a moment ago. He had already pulled up pant legs to reveal the pipes that came from his calves. He zoomed across the room and grabbed Donald before running past the Trick Master, narrowly avoiding the clubs it swung towards them.
"What are you doing? You're supposed to be with Alice!" Donald looked at him..
"Apologies, but I was afraid I was the only one able to get you out of there. You were being chased into a corner. Midoriya is with Alice, don't worry she's safe." He came to a stop once they were across the room and away from the Heartless.
Donald glanced at Iida's legs and noticed the pipes sticking out of them. He had many questions, but decided to put those aside.
The Heartless turned around to look at all of them now that they had all recovered from its last attack. They all watched the Heartless shudder violently and swung its clubs around in anger before one of them hit the stove.
There was a weak sparking noise that came from the stove, growing louder until it finally burst into flames. The Heartless paused, and a mischievous gleam crossed the many eyes of the Heartless. It took its clubs and held them over the flame, watching them catch fire before turning back to them. A malevolent grin now on its many faces.
"It set its clubs on fire?" Sora asked.
"Looks like it." Goofy frowned. "Which means we gotta start bein' real careful."
Izuku let out a deep breath and held his weapon up. He was much more thankful for the cold magic swirling around him now. He just had to keep it going, keep it active until he could build up more power and unleash it.
Before Izuku could start looking for a plan the Heartless began stomping around again and pounding the clubs on the floor, leaving fire to linger where it had struck. The sent all of them scrambling away to avoid the flames
Izuku took Alice's hand and ran away from the rampaging Heartless. It had no real target, it was just trying to lash out at whatever it could. He could come up with a plan later, right now he just had to get Alice clear of the danger.
The Trick Master continued to trample across the room and hit whatever it could. While it wasn't paying attention, Sora managed to pull himself up to the table and hid behind the two bottles. He watched the fiery clubs with fear, waiting for some kind of opening. They had to stop it and keep it from burning the place down.
Sora braced himself as the Heartless got closer, he pulled at his magic and began to cast an ice spell.
He took a deep breath and jumped out of his hiding spot when the Heartless was right in front of him.
"Blizzar-"
The Trick Master brought down its clubs around Sora and sent the table into the ground. He was falling before he knew it and sent the spell off prematurely. Sora hit the ground as the half formed ice spell struck the Heartless.
It can manipulate the room?!
The Heartless locked its gaze on Sora as the ice melted off its face. It took a moment before bringing down its clubs again, one of them smacked into the chair and flattened it while the other was aimed towards Sora. Sora yelped and rolled out of the way, narrowly dodging the fiery club.
Sora backed away from the lingering flames and looked at the Heartless as it swung at him again. He didn't have enough time to dodge it and held up his Keyblade to dodge. The club slammed into his weapon, pushing him back a couple of feet.
Sora grunted and withheld a pained cry as the flames began to lick at his skin. His eyes flicked to the side as he saw someone sprinting his way.
"Blizzara!"
Sora threw himself back as a large chunk of ice flew towards them. He saw the ice slam into the Heartless.
"Are you okay?" Izuku shouted.
"Y-Yeah, I'm fine." Sora nodded. "Got a little too close to the fire though…" He looked up as the Heartless started moving again and scrambled to get out of the way.
"We need to put out the fire before we can really do anything, if we get too close we'll only get hurt." Izuku jumped aside to avoid a swing. "And we need to find a way to get that table and chair back up."
"The Heartless might just set its clubs on fire again if we put them out." Sora panted.
"Then we put out the stove, and keep it distracted so it won't try to set it on fire again. You think you've got a good hand on the Blizzard spell?"
"I would say so."
"Good, even if its minor the Heartless will usually turn its attention to whoever hurt it last. So whenever it starts getting too close to someone-"
"Someone else has to distract it. It's basically a game of hot potato...but more dangerous."
"Essentially."
Sora eyed the fire lingering on the walls and the scorch marks on the floor. They had to take this thing down quick.
They looked ahead to see Donald and Goofy running towards them.
"I think Donald can put out the stove, and Goofy can watch his back. Does that sound good?" Sora glanced over.
"Yeah, go ahead and tell them that. I can keep it busy for a while!" Izuku whirled around as Sora ran past him, and fired off another Blizzard spell. He watched it crash into the Heartless's arm and start to spread. The monster looked at him before bringing one of its clubs to its arms and breaking off the ice.
"Yeah, probably should have figured it'd do that…" Izuku took off running and led the Heartless away from the others.
"What is he doing?" Donald asked.
"He's keeping it distracted." Sora answered. "But we sorta have a plan. Do you think you can put out the flames on the stove?" He pointed at the stove in question, the flames were still raging and were beginning to spout out black smoke. "And Goofy can make sure nothing bad happens to you."
"What about the two of ya?" Goofy looked up to see Izuku narrowly avoid another swing.
"Izuku and I will keep it distracted, then once the stove is out we can put out the flames on its clubs! That'll take away most of the danger."
"And then what?" Donald asked.
Sora flinched at a crashing sound. "We haven't gotten that far yet, but we can figure it out as we go." Sora left them with that and started running towards Izuku. He took a deep breath and focused on the cold of the spell.
"Blizzard!" He held out his Keyblade as an ice crystal slammed into the back of its head. The Trick Master quickly turned its attention on Sora again and began to lumber towards him. Sora fired off one more spell before he turned to sprint away.
-.-
Iida watched all this with bated breath, he couldn't stand how useless he was. He could only watch as those four risked life and limb to keep the monster distracted so someone else could get a breather.
Izuku and Sora were taking turns keeping it distracted, while Donald and Goofy were still trying to put out the stove fire. To their credit, it didn't look as severe as it had before. They were making progress, but Donald was starting to look tired.
Quirk exhaustion- or magic exhaustion whatever the duck insisted on calling it.
Sora had taken over for Izuku not too long ago. He had spared a glance to his friend and was disheartened by what he saw. The blue glow around him had intensified, but he had begun to shake; and what looked like ice was creeping up his face.
"Quirks are physical abilities too, Midoriya…" He muttered. "You need to warm yourself up. Unless…"
"My Quirk is called Energy Conversion. You see, I take my own energy and turn it into other types."
"You don't have enough energy to warm yourself up." He muttered. He had been using his own energy to create those chunks of ice. Of course, as every Quirk does, it had some kind of recoil.
"We have to help." Iida stepped forward. "They're spread too thin."
"But they told us to stay away from the monster, how are we supposed to help?" Alice asked.
His eyes darted around, looking for something, anything. Then he spotted the table and the chair that were still flattened into the ground. That was what Sora had been using to get up close to the monster's weak point. But now they were depending on long range attacks that only seemed to annoy it.
He narrowed his eyes. In this nonsensical place, a simple smack to the table could flatten it into the ground; but there had to be some way to bring it back up again.
"Let's try bringing the table and chair back up." Iida set his gaze forward. "But first you should-"
"Let me come with you, please." Alice looked up. "I can't bear to see our friends struggle either. So please, let me help."
Iida stared at her, then looked to the group that were on the battlefield. Izuku had taken over as the distraction again, and the stove was still burning. They needed every advantage they could get.
"Alright, fine. But if that monster gets too close then I must insist on moving us to safety."
"I understand."
Without another word the two ran as fast as they could to the flattened table and chair. They both kept an eye on how far the monster was and who was distracting it. The creature was getting increasingly frustrated as time went on, it would stomp its feet and swing around its clubs with reckless abandon before chasing after someone.
Iida and Alice stared at the furniture in confusion before dropping to their knees and feeling around. They could feel the texture of the table on the floor, even the tops on the bottles but they couldn't find any purchase.
They continued to scramble for some kind of solution, getting more desperate as the Heartless began to get closer.
It wasn't until they grasped at the edges of the table that they were able to feel something, it was as if their fingers sank into the ground. They looked at each other in surprise before reaching deeper until they felt the bottom of the table.
Wordlessly they began to pull the table up, feeling it slowly rise out of the ground. After a particularly rough pull, the table shot up again and knocked the two back. The table appearing had surprised even the Heartless as it crashed into it and nearly fell over.
Iida hurriedly pulled Alice away as the monster raised a club to strike the table again. Before it could connect a large torrent of ice assaulted the Trick Master and made it turn towards the offender.
"Do-on't." Izuku warned through chattering teeth.
"Midoriya!" Iida shouted.
"Wh-What are you two...d-doing?" He asked.
"Getting the table and chair back, it's the only way you can reach its face right?"
"Y-Yeah but-"
"Keep it distracted, and we'll get the chair up. Then we'll get out of the way!"
Izuku stared at them before nodding and assaulting the Heartless with another wave of ice. In turn more began to spread across his body.
"Be careful Midoriya!"
Izuku sprinted away from the Heartless as the two ran towards the chair. He couldn't be more thankful for Iida than he was right now. He glanced ahead to see the stove fire was pretty much out, the whole wall a mess of ice and water.
At the single sign of a spark, Donald smacked it with a minor ice spell.
"We got the stove out!" Goofy shouted.
Izuku nodded as he made a sharp turn and flung another ice spell at the Trick Master, a large ice crystal slammed into its face and made it stumble back. Izuku grinned before flinching at the rush of cold magic.
The more blows he landed the stronger he got, but the power he was using wanted to be unleashed, to be used. Instead he insisted on holding onto it, building it up more and more until he found the perfect opening to let it all out. Except that the longer he held onto it, and the stronger it got, the more it started to backfire on him.
Was it that his body couldn't handle it? Was it like the magic overflow, it was too much for him to handle in one go?
Izuku slipped and fell over before scrambling to his feet again. He looked up to see a fiery club about to come down on him when another ice spell hit the Heartless. Sora stood behind it and wasted no time in running off to lure it away.
Izuku sighed as he steadied himself, the world was starting to spin, and his coordination was off.
Hypothermia, his mind supplied. Backlash, he warned himself. He looked down to see frost was starting to spread where he was standing. He sighed and looked up when he heard a cry of triumph from Iida and Alice. The chair and table were back.
Izuku shook himself back into focus and took off running again.
"Sora!" He yelled and pointed at the furniture. Sora nodded and began running towards it while Izuku took over again. The Trick Master of course turned to its assailant and gave chase. He kept glancing over his shoulder to keep an eye on it.
The Heartless was getting slower, the ice on it wasn't melting as fast anymore. Even the flames looked less intense.
He grinned to himself as he sprinted towards the table.
So you do have a limit.
Sora was already starting to climb up to the table. He didn't see Iida or Alice, which meant they must have gotten to safety.
Izuku was almost at the table when he heard someone screaming his name. He looked ahead to see Iida standing on top of the table.
He felt the heat before anything else. The Trick Master had thrown the club at him before he could get any further. Izuku cried in pain as he was sent to the ground, the force of the club made him gasp for air. Izuku tried to regain his bearings and pull himself up again.
He could feel the lingering flames licking at his skin and eating away at the ice.
"Midoriya!" Iida shouted at his friend and watched him struggle to get up. Alice squeaked in fear when the table shook, the club had crashed into the base of the table and nearly sent it toppling.
Iida looked to the side when he heard Sora cry out in surprise and lose his grip. Before he could fall down, Iida rushed over and pulled him up.
"Thanks! Is Izuku okay?" Sora rushed to the edge to get a look at his friend.
"That blow knocked him down, and he's still recovering." Iida grit his teeth as the monster drew closer. "I have an idea. It is incredibly reckless, but I think it may buy you and Midoriya the time you need in order to finish that thing off."
"And what idea is that?"
Iida looked up as the monster stared them all down and was about to smack the table down again.
Move!
The engines in his legs flared to life, and he sprinted forward before leaping into the air. Sora watched in a mixture of shock and awe as he leapt forward. Even Donald and Goofy watched in shock as he jumped straight towards the Heartless.
"Recipro Burst!"
He kicked at the face of the Heartless as hard as he could, hearing a loud crack as its head snapped back.
I just needed to buy them a little more time!
"Iida!" Sora shouted and watched him fall to the ground. The Heartless stumbled back a few steps as Iida landed on the ground. He was quick to recover and go over to Izuku, still struggling to get to his feet. A patch of ice began to spread where he was, slowly spreading out.
"Midoriya, you need to get up!" Iida grabbed the back of his shirt and helped him to his feet.
Izuku smiled and nodded. "Yeah, s-sorry. Thank you." His gaze snapped up as the Trick Master lunged itself forward at them. A new crack on its face from where it had been kicked.
Izuku ran forward and gathered up all the energy he had managed to build up. He took a deep breath as he held up his Keyblade, taking a moment to remember a move his Master had done. So long ago, yet it was as clear as day.
"Diamond Dust: Overtake." He exhaled as he slammed his Keyblade into the ground, channeling all the power he gathered into the attack. Ice spread across everything in the room. The Heartless was stopped in its tracks as the ice spread up its body and encased it in a freezing prison.
Izuku looked up at the table as he fell back with thick ice covering his body.
"Sora!"
He didn't need to be told again. Sora gathered everything he had as he leapt off the table with energy crackling along his blade.
Sora felt the Heartless's gaze on him as he raised the Keyblade over his head.
"Stun Impact!"
Sora brought down his Keyblade as hard as he could, feeling it cut through the ice and tear through the Heartless. The Heartless shattered into pieces and disappeared into nothing. Only a large heart that was now free remained, and floated away.
Sora landed where the Heartless had been just a moment ago. When he was sure nothing else was going to appear he let out a sigh and fell over.
"Sora! Izuku!" Donald and Goofy rushed over.
"Ugh, everything hurts." Sora groaned.
Izuku wordlessly nodded as he shivered.
Iida let out a shaky breath as Alice approached him, she had made her way down from the table.
"It's over." He sighed.
"It is. I must admit, that was quite frightening."
"Agreed." Iida nodded. "Let's go check on them. I'm worried they may need medical attention."
-.-
"Are ya okay there?" Goofy looked over Izuku with worry.
"I-I'm fi-ine." Izuku slowly sat up. He looked around to see most of the room was covered in ice. Thankfully it was already starting to melt and disappear, as did the ice on himself.
"You went overboard." Donald scolded him. "And you," he looked at Sora. "You shouldn't have rushed in at the beginning. You're lucky you didn't break anything when you hit the wall."
"That's good, I thought I did for a second." Sora sheepishly grinned.
"You'd know if ya broke somethin'," Goofy patted his shoulder.
"You're more bruised than anything, a few burns, but I don't have enough magic left to patch you up." Donald frowned.
"Thankfully we don't need it. Here ya go. Drink up, both of ya." Goofy dug into his pockets and handed the boys a potion each.
Sora stared at his before shrugging and drinking down the contents.
"I-I'm okay." Izuku tried to hand it back. "Really."
"Nuh-uh. Ya gotta drink it." Goofy insisted. "I can still see where ya got scratched up from the forest. Then ya got banged up real good in this fight."
"He's right, it took you a while to recover from that hit."
"I-Iida! What about you?"
"Alice and I are unharmed. My engines are stalled for now, but that's because of the cooldown."
"Are you-"
"Midoriya, please. I insist you treat your injuries. The sooner you do, the sooner we can get Alice home. And the sooner we can have a discussion."
Izuku sighed and popped open the bottle and gulped it down. He sighed in relief as most of the pain disappeared.
"Potions don't always heal all the way, but they do help out."
"I'll say." Sora got to his feet and stretched. Izuku followed shortly after.
"Since we're okay now I guess it's time to grow big again and-"
"What is with all the racket?" The Doorknob shuddered. "And it's freezing in here! How's a doorknob to get any sleep?"
Izuku swore he saw a crack appear in Iida's glasses.
"Would you mind keeping it down? I would like to finish my nap." The Doorknob yawned, and in his mouth there was a shimmer that caught their attention. It was shaped like a Keyhole.
Izuku and Sora looked down as their Keyblades appeared and jerked them forward to point at the Keyhole. A beam of light shot from their Keyblades and into the Keyhole, filling the room with light as a locking sound was heard.
Once the light died down the Doorknob went right back to sleep, snoozing as if nothing had happened.
"What in the world was that?" Iida asked.
"I dunno, but it sounded like something closed." Sora shrugged.
They all looked down as what looked like a gem fell out of the Doorknobs mouth with a gleam.
"What is that?" Sora asked.
"It looks like a Gummi, but not a regular one. Nope!"
"I'll hold onto it." Donald grabbed it and shoved it in his pocket.
"Splendid, wonderful! A job well done. You're quite the heroes now aren't you?"
They looked up to see the Cheshire Cat sitting on the table.
"You again!"
The Cat grinned at Iida before fading away and reappearing on Sora's shoulder. "I suggest you all run along now. You have no more business in this place. You've done us all quite the service." He hummed as he hopped off, dropping something in Sora's pocket.
"I believe it is time for Alice to return home."
-.-
"I believe this is goodbye." Alice watched as a piece of carpet came from above and unfurled at her feet.
"Yeah, I guess it is." Sora smiled. "I'm glad we got you home."
"As am I. Now you don't have to worry about the Queen." Iida nodded. "Hopefully you won't find yourself in this place again."
"I don't believe I will. I've seen enough rabbit holes for one day. Will we see each other again?"
"I'm not sure, maybe we will." Izuku shrugged.
"That would be nice. I would love to have you all over for tea one day." She laughed. "Well, a good day to you. And safe travels!"
She made her way up the carpet and to the top of the rabbit hole.
"And how are we going to get out of here?" Iida asked.
"Oh that's easy." Donald shook his head. He pulled out his staff and held it up. "Alakazam!"
A puff of smoke blurred their vision and when it cleared they were in the Gummi Ship.
"What is all this?" Iida asked.
"It's our Gummi Ship! It's how we get from world to world. Right now it's how we're going to get from Wonderland to Traverse Town." Donald hopped into the driver's seat and began to turn everything on.
Goofy looked between the passengers and the chairs before clearing his throat. "Iida, how about ya sit next to Donald. I'm gonna whip us up somethin' to snack on."
Iida saw the issue and frowned, but didn't question him. "I see, thank you."
Once they all got settled in Donald took off to the lanes between, it was a much easier takeoff than leaving Traverse Town.
As Izuku reached into his bag to pull out a notebook, Iida turned the passenger chair to face him, a serious expression on his face.
"Midoriya."
"Yes?"
"I believe now is a good time as any to have that discussion you promised me."
-HoL-
Thank you to keeperofhounds for beta reading this fic!
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